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FreeZack.com - News on Zack and Other Expatriates Arrested in DubaienFreeZack.comAFTER 6 YEARS, HOUSTON MAN'S DETENTION IN DUBAI CONTINUEShttp://www.freezack.com/index1.asp?idmenu=6&title=after-6-years-houston-mans-detention-in-dubai-continues&idsubmenu=173
4/22/2014 2:56:04 PMWASHINGTON — For Zack Shahin and his Houston family, the nightmare continues. Day after day, year after year.

Shahin has been jailed in Dubai since 2008 after being arrested and accused of various financial improprieties in his job as CEO of a Dubai development company.

Since then, he has been acquitted of one charge; had another charge dropped; and been convicted of yet another charge, but won reversal of that conviction. He currently stands convicted of nothing.

In the meantime, he has missed his son's high school graduation; his daughter's sweet sixteen celebration; and all the days in between that make up six years of family life.

Now, as his lawyers grow increasingly frustrated with both the snail's-pace legal proceedings and the State Department's inability to find a diplomatic avenue to secure his freedom, Shahin waits in jail for yet another trial. And his family struggles on without him.

Shahin, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon, met his wife Soha in Houston in 1991. He married her that year and quickly advanced in the business world, working for Pepsico first in the United States and later in the United Arab Emirates, and then in banking.

Then he accepted a position as CEO of Deyaar Development in Dubai.

On March 23, 2008, Shahin was arrested at his office, and was accused of bribery, embezzlement and other improprieties.

A statement on a website posted by supporters alleges that Shahin was subjected to harsh interrogation methods including sleep deprivation, threats with torture devices, marathon interrogation sessions, and threats against his family.

According to the statement "all the financial transactions and activities alleged to be in violation of law were signed and approved by the Board of Directors and board chairman of the company, and subject to quarterly and annual audits ... by Ernst & Young."

No formal charges were filed against Shahin for the first 13 months of his detention.

Shahin's lawyers, James Jatras and Eric Akers, can do nothing to speed the case along.

"Usually there's a hearing every two months," Akers said. "Sometimes the arbitrators show up, sometimes the witnesses show up, sometimes they don't."

]]>Why does US tolerate unjust imprisonment of an American citizen in the United Arab Emirates?http://www.freezack.com/index1.asp?idmenu=6&title=why-does-us-tolerate-unjust-imprisonment-of-an-american-citizen-in-the-united-arab-emirates&idsubmenu=172
4/2/2014 10:12:51 PMDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — It continues to remain unclear why the Obama administration has been unwilling to intervene on behalf of an American citizen unjustly incarcerated here, a country that can best be described as a United States client state. How would US strategic interests be harmed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) if it more forcefully demanded the release of US citizen Zack Shahin.

After all, Gulf Arab states, fearful of Islamic terrorism and distrustful of Iran's great power intentions and nuclear ambitions, are more reliant on the US than the US on them. Washington possesses the ability to chart a more independent foreign policy with the shale gas revolution reducing US reliance on imported energy from the Middle East.

Zack Shahin is a former CEO of Deyaar, a real estate services company. He was arrested on trumped up charges of embezzlement in March 2008 during the global financial meltdown and became a scapegoat for the UAE's poorly crafted economic and fiscal policies.

The Western media routinely vilify authoritarian regimes in Eurasia, especially after Russian President Vladimir Putin's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, while using kid gloves when talking about the more authoritarian UAE. The UAE is defined as “not free” by the Washington-based human rights think tank Freedom House, whose 2012 report talked of growing suppression of political dissent.

Shahin began a hunger strike on March 3 to call attention to his plight. He has been imprisoned for five years without trial in inhumane conditions and with gross violation of due process of his rights. He and his family have been forced to sign documents in Arabic that they do not understand and their house has been ransacked by security officials and items stolen.

The UAE authorities have made it up as they have gone along, adding new criminal charges as older ones have failed to produce desired outcomes. Poor or non-existent medical care has led to a deterioration of his health; high blood pressure and a stomach ulcer have been made worse by his incarceration.

In March 2013, Shahin was acquitted on the most important first of five charges but nevertheless sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. These charges were subsequently overturned by the Court of Appeals in November. The case then went to the Court of Cassation, which is the highest court in the UAE and hears disputes on matters of law. This court upheld the non-guilty verdict.

Shahin remains an example of selective use of justice incarcerated in the UAE.

The tragic reality is that the US is more forceful in focusing on political conditions and authoritarianism in Russia and Eurasia than interceding on behalf of one of its own in the UAE.

Clearly, the US approach of restricting intervention to behind-the-scenes private complaints has failed. The UAE, highly dependent on US strategic support in a volatile region of the world, will only be responsive to strong and critical public statements condemning the selective use of justice against US citizens such as Shahin.

President Obama should be aggressively working towards release of Zack Shahin, who has been incarcerated so long without due process and the rule of law.

Taras Kuzio is a non-resident fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, School of Advanced International Relations, Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC. He has been involved in democracy and human rights affairs for three decades.

]]>Attorneys Seek Congressional Assistance for help in Freeing Zack Shahin from Prison in Dubai to his Family in America as the Obama Administration Stands Idlehttp://www.freezack.com/index1.asp?idmenu=6&title=attorneys-seek-congressional-assistance-for-help-in-freeing-zack-shahin-from-prison-in-dubai-to-his-family-in-america-as-the-obama-administration-stands-idle&idsubmenu=171
4/2/2014 2:45:49 PMDUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 1, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wondering whether any answers to the many letters sent by family members and attorneys for Zack Shahin to the United States Department of State will be forthcoming, legal counsel for Shahin have now turned their focus toward seeking Congressional assistance to end his six-year long ordeal.

Citing the lack of any response from correspondence directed to Secretary of State John Kerry and his predecessor, Hillary Clinton, as well as to U.S. Ambassador to the U.A.E. Michael Corbin; Consul General in Dubai, Rob Waller; and A. Elizabeth Jones, Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, attorneys for Zack Shahin are stepping up their requests to U.S. Representatives and Senators, and members of standing House and Senate committees to press the State Department to account for their failure to weigh in against the many abuses committed in the name of Dubai justice against Shahin.

"Although we have previously directed letters to legislators, we are seeking to find someone willing to call on Secretary Kerry and demand justification for the inaction of the State Department to the many instances of abuse and violations of Zack's due process and human rights.," stated Eric J. Akers, co-consul for Shahin.

"Beginning at least in 2008, the United States Department of State has noted shortcomings in the legal and judicial system of the U.A.E.," Akers said. "Since Zack Shahin has been imprisoned, his government has done nothing to direct the government of the U.A.E. to address the many shortcomings inherent with the control by the executive branch of the U.A.E. over the judiciary. This is, at the very least, the reason Zack has remained in prison. And we are now asking Congress to require an accounting from the State Department for this dereliction of duty as the life and interests of a U.S. citizen jailed abroad are not protected by the Obama administration."

Letters have been delivered to, and personal contact has been made, with House and Senate members in hopes of encouraging legislative intervention to this fiasco. Both the Majority (Democratic) and Minority (Republican) sides of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and Ohio and Texas Senate offices have been contacted, as well as Congressmen John Culberson of Texas (where Zack last resided in the U.S., and where is his wife and children live) and Jim Jordan of Ohio (in whose district Zack's brother lives). "We are seeing some progress in presenting Zack's case to the members of Congress contacted, and await their response," Jim Jatras, co-consul for Shahin, stated.

About Zack Shahin's Plight Since His March 2008 Arrest and Imprisonment:

March 23, 2014, marked the six-year anniversary of Zack Shahin's arrest. Except for the brief period following his release on bail in July 2012 and return that September, he has remained imprisoned without an upheld conviction. In early 2013, Zack was acquitted on the first of four criminal cases against him, all of which stem from the same baseless accusations concerning his tenure as CEO of Deyaar, a Dubai-based real estate company. The prosecutor unsuccessfully appealed this decision and the not-guilty verdict was upheld. In March 2013, Zack and co-defendants were found guilty of embezzlement and received a 15-year sentence. Zack immediately appealed the conviction and the Dubai Court of Appeals overturned the court's decision.

Despite an appeals court overturning Shahin's guilty verdict and a cassation court upholding another not-guilty verdict, after four years of court appearances and continuances, and an obvious strategic maneuver by the Dubai government to deny U.S. citizen Zack Shahin his due process right to a trial, Washington continues to tread lightly.

]]>Jailed American's lawyers lash out at Dubai lawshttp://www.freezack.com/index1.asp?idmenu=6&title=jailed-americans-lawyers-lash-out-at-dubai-laws&idsubmenu=170
3/25/2014 3:04:22 PMThe US-based lawyers for former Dubai real estate executive Zack Shahin have again called on the US government to assist their client six years after he was first jailed.

Shahin, former CEO of Dubai-based real estate company Deyaar, was charged in 2008 of accepting a AED20m ($5.4m) bribe at the height of the property boom.

The Lebanese American, 49, was found guilty in May last year but later acquitted on appeal and is now awaiting a re-trial.

His lawyers claim Shahin has been unfairly detained without a conviction, particularly while a co-defendant – an Emirati national - is on bail.

They claim there is “obvious evidence of discriminatory treatment of his cases” and have demanded the US State Department intervene.

“The State Department needs to speak out publicly against the kind of arbitrary and capricious application or misapplication of the Dubai laws with the sole purpose of imprisoning Zack Shahin indefinitely to answer charges which have been shown to be spurious,” Shahin's legal counsel said in a statement.

“From the hundreds of continued hearings, to evidence an appellate court has described as ‘speculation', to ignoring the judicial process set forth in the laws of Dubai, Zack has been nothing but a scapegoat for the overall economic downturn suffered by Dubai around the time of his arrest. Still, the Department says nothing.

“Our government has a duty to speak out against the discriminatory application of Dubai law against Zack Shahin.

“As documented in many media reports, and even declared law in Dubai, expatriates – including Americans, like Shahin – do not receive the same treatment as Dubai nationals when charged or convicted of a crime in Dubai.”

The US government has previously been involved in the case, and Shahin was released on bail in July 2012 but he then absconded to Yemen before returning to the UAE in September, 2012.

In early 2013, he was acquitted on the first of four criminal cases against him, while in May he was found guilty of embezzlement relating to the AED15m bribes and received a 15-year sentence.

The Criminal Court found he had approved various contracts in return for the money during his tenure at the developer between 2004 and 2007.

]]>Obama Silent on 6th Anniversary of American Zack Shahin Dubai arresthttp://www.freezack.com/index1.asp?idmenu=6&title=obama-silent-on-6th-anniversary-of-american-zack-shahin-dubai-arrest&idsubmenu=169
3/25/2014 12:33:33 AMThe six-year anniversary of U.S. Citizen Zack Shahin's imprisonment has come and gone, with nary a word from the U.S. Department of State suggesting any resolution to his ongoing ordeal. Despite Shahin remaining imprisoned without any upheld conviction, U.S. Ambassador to U.A.E., Michael H. Corbin, and U.S. Consul General in Dubai, Rob Waller, have not made any public statement on Shahin's case or the flawed legal system of Dubai.

According to Shahin's U.S. legal team, the imprisoned American is left wondering whether the annual State Department country reports on human rights practices, including detailed abuses occurring in the U.A.E., is purely academic research for scholars to debate in the abstract.

U.S. co-counsel for Shahin, Eric J. Akers, stated: “After six years imprisoned without any upheld conviction, Zack Shahin's case is not one of a U.S. citizen begging for intervention to absolve him of his alleged acts of misconduct. This is a case of the dysfunctional Dubai judicial system trampling on the due process rights of a U.S. citizen and the Obama administration sitting idly by. Can President Obama seriously proclaim that his foreign policy includes the protection of U.S. citizens abroad, after six years of Zack's imprisonment?”

Shahin's ordeal is especially concerning, since he continues to hold the dubious distinction as the longest imprisoned foreign citizen held in the U.A.E. without any upheld conviction. And it was one year after his arrest that any charges were even filed against him. Since then numerous delays of cases filed have prolonged his detention. All of this validates the criticism found in the State Department's annual report on the status of the legal system in the U.A.E, particularly the observation that “court decisions remained subject to review by the political leadership and suffered from nepotism.”

Commenting further, Akers stated: “Since his detention, Zack lost his father, his children have grown, and his wife remains wondering whether she will ever have her husband back. And the United States Department of State stonewalls in raising his case to the U.A.E. officials. The concern for those persecuted in other countries, whether the son of a U.S. administration official arrested in Egypt, lost hitch-hikers in Iran, or political dissidents around the world, surely should make Zack's situation as equal. Where is the parity of importance in the eyes of the State Department?

Having received no response to correspondence to the U.S. Ambassador in Abu Dhabi, and the Consul General in Dubai, Congressional leaders have been contacted by Shahin's counsel, asking for assistance in determining why his situation has not been given greater importance. It is hoped that members of Congress will receive better responses than the family of Shahin. “Since 2012, Zack's wife and others asking for updates have only received ‘form' responses, telling them what is already known,” James Jatras, co-consul for Zack Shahin stated. “And the telling message is that the State Department does not know how to do what it is charged to do: Protect all American citizens abroad, wherever they may be.”

About Zack Shahin's Plight Since His March 2008 Arrest and Imprisonment:

March 23, 2014, will mark the six-year anniversary of Zack Shahin's arrest. Except for the brief period following his release on bail in July 2012 and return that September, he has remained imprisoned without an upheld conviction. In early 2013, Zack was acquitted on the first of four criminal cases against him, all of which stem from the same baseless accusations concerning his tenure as CEO of Deyaar, a Dubai-based real estate company. The prosecutor unsuccessfully appealed this decision and the not-guilty verdict was upheld. In March 2013, Zack and co-defendants were found guilty of embezzlement and received a 15-year sentence. Zack immediately appealed the conviction and the Dubai Court of Appeals overturned the court's decision.

Despite an appeals court overturning Shahin's guilty verdict and a cassation court upholding another not-guilty verdict, after four years of court appearances and continuances, and an obvious strategic maneuver by the Dubai government to deny U.S. citizen Zack Shahin his due process right to a trial, Washington continues to tread lightly.

U.S. legal counsel for Zack Shahin are Eric J. Akers and James Jatras.